LYCOMING COUNTY -- Investigators want to know if a man picked up for a weekend robbery is responsible for a slew of others.
At least a dozen convenience stores in Lycoming and Clinton counties have been held up since mid-December, including the Nittany Minit Mart in Loyalsock Township, Puff Express in Lock Haven, and the Turkey Hill in Duboistown.
Police believe the same person is behind those robberies because in nearly each case the man covered his face with a bandanna, showed a weapon, and made off with cash.
However, in the latest robbery police say the bandit was caught and they want to know if he is the same man who is responsible for the others. The suspect was captured after two separate police chases where he crashed two separate cars.
That man was taken into custody Sunday following a robbery early Sunday morning at a mini mart in Jersey Shore.
A few hours later, local police spotted the suspect's vehicle and gave chase on Route 220. The suspect crashed that car near Linden and ran into the woods on foot.
Officer Chad Aldenderfer of the Tiadaghton Valley Regional Police was one of the officers chasing him.
"He turned around, jumped up, and went up through the woods and I couldn't pursue him due to an injury from going down into the bank," Aldenderder said.
Police say that man then stole a pickup truck, which was spotted a short time later in Lock Haven by officers.
Once again, the suspect led police on a high-speed chase on Route 220, crashing that pickup truck near the Avis exit.
The suspect is being held at the Lycoming County jail on a state parole detainer.
State police have not released the name of the suspect, what charges he will face, or if he is responsible for the other holdups. He was supposed to be arraigned Monday night, however that was pushed back until Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. at a district judge's office near Williamsport.